Macarong

Blimey! I hadn't realised how long it was since my last post!  And there won't be many in the next few weeks as it's far too nice out to be inside blogging. Take that, internet!
I shall maybe bang out some stuff soon about my current obsession with parmesan (sooo goooood) and there is a culinary goal for August: master macarons. A stupid  challenging choice, perhaps, given the temperature here in August, but what the hey.
First attempt was yesterday, with a new kit purchased from one of my favourite shops, Marie-Paule Cadeaux (if you're ever in the neighbourhood, pop in and check out the kitchenware and feel free to put points on my fidelity card!).  The initial stages went well, and Daughter and I were very optimistic, but they were still gooey underneath despite the cooking time recommended by the recipe that came with the kit.  We should perhaps have left them longer but we were worried about them going brown.  Looking at other recipes online, the sugar content may be a little out of proportion.  Or we simply cocked it up somehow.  The actual kit (silicone icing pouch and macaron tray) was excellent quality, the accompanying multi-lingual booklet not so much (as borne out by the errors in translation etc).
We shall be trying out various recipes until we find one that suits: further bulletins as events warrant.
I'm going out to play now.

Côtes de Boeuf En Deux Cuissons, Sauce Béarnaise

Ingredients: 

For 5/6 people:

• 2 côtes de boeuf (beef chops - see your butcher)


• 4 sprigs of rosemary


• 8 bay leaves


• Olive oil


• Fleur de sel


• Crushed black pepper

 

For the sauce:

• 2 shallots


• 1 small bunch of tarragon


• chervil (optional - I didn't have any and I can't imagine the sauce being any better for it)


• 2 egg yolks


• 150g melted butter


• 5 cl white wine vinegar


• 5 cl white wine


• 1 teaspoon of crushed black pepper


• Salt

Prep time: 20 mins

Wait time: 1 hour

Cooking time: 20 mins

Oven temp: 180

Instructions: 

For the beef:

• Cover the bottom of a roating tray with the rosemary and bay leaves


• Rub each side of the beef with the fleur de sel


• Heat the oil in a frying pan on a high heat


• Sear each side of the beef for 2-3 mins


• Place the beef in the roasting tray and leave to rest for one hour


• Preheat the oven to 180and cook the beef for 15 minutes for French rare (very bloody in the centre)


• Sprinkle with the pepper before serving

For the sauce:

• Chop the shallots and place in a saucepan with half of the tarragon (choppped), the crushed pepper, the vinegar, the wine and 2 pinches of salt


• Bring to the boil, then simmer on a low heat until reduced to around 2 soup spoons of liquid. (This stage can be done whilst the beef is resting).


• Off of the heat, add 2 soup spoons of water and the egg yolks


• Whisk together


• Either on a very low heat or in a bain-marie, warm the mixture through, whisking constantly


• Once the mixture has thickened so it starts to stick to the whisk slightly, gradually add in the cooled, melted butter whilst still whisking constantly


• Add the rest of the chopped herbs and serve.

Rouille

Ingredients: 

• 75ml peanut oil (or olive oil, or a mixture of both)


• 2 egg yolks


• 1 clove crushed garlic


• Paprika or mild chili powder

Instructions: 

• Beat the egg yolks in a small bowl


• Gradually whisk in the oil until it has the consistency of a mayonnaise


• Add in the crushed garlic and mix well


• Sprinkle in about a teaspoon of paprika or piment doux and whisk


• Cover and refrigerate until use

Béar-naise This In Mind For A Special Meal

This weekend we celebrated the Fête Nationale of our 'patrimoine adoptée' with some very good friends and, of course, some very good food. We started with an apéritif at 12h30, and finished at 21h00. Some lunch!
For the entrée (n.b. America: this means starter, not main course!) we had a classic local Soupe de Poisson (a cousin of bouillabase) which I bought ready-made from the local poissonerie, and served with the traditional grated cheese, croutons (made from small slices of baguette, not diced bread) and a home-made rouille (a tangy, goopy sauce to dollop on the croutons).  For those not so keen on the strong, fishy taste there was terrine de campagne.  On this occasion I bought the terrine from our excellent boucherie, but I do have a very good recipe which I will post another time.
For the plat (main course) I prepared 'Côte de boeuf en deux cuissons, sauce béarnaise'. It was the first time I had cooked côtes de boeuf any other way than grilled over vinewood, so I was a bit nervous for our dinner guests, but they were incredibly good and I can't wait for an excuse to cook them again.  The trickiest bit was the sauce, which requires a lot of attention, but if you follow the steps correctly it's no problem.  Just be sure to have all your ingredients prepped and to hand before you begin cooking.
For the side dish, I took some boiled, diced potatoes, a diced aubergine, a chopped red onion and threw them all in a frying pan with some butter and olive oil. I seasoned and let them cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes then stirred in about a handful of freshly grated parmesan before turning out into a serving dish.
For the cheese course we had some fantastic, locally-made cheese, then for dessert we had my Moussey Chocolate Tart. The dessert was prepared a day in advance as I was fully prepared to be incapable of serving anything complicated by the time we got to the fourth course.  And I was right. Bonne fête indeed.

With the beef: 'Caracterre' 2007 Merlot Cabernet, Maitres Vignerons de Gallargues.

Homemade Bagels

Ingredients: 

• 530g flour


• 1 tablespoon (12g) caster sugar


• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt


• 1 tablespoon (15ml) vegetable oil


• 2 teaspoons (7.5g) dried yeast


• 300-350ml warm water

• Prep time: about 1 hour 15 mins


• Oven time: 20 mins at 220

 

 

 

Instructions: 

• Mix the dough using the above ingredients and knead for a full 10 minutes until smooth


• Cut the dough into 8 equal pieces and let it rest for 20 minutes


• Take each piece and roll it into a 'snake', roughly the same length as the width of both hands


• Wrap a snake around one hand, with the ends meeting on the palm, then smush and roll the ends together, working it into as smooth a ring as possible


• Once all the rings are formed, leave to rest for 20 minutes and bring to the boil a large pan of unsalted water


• Place the bagels in the water, as many at a time as possible without the bagels touching


• Cook for 1 minute, then flip over in the water and cook the other side for 1 minute then remove immediately


• Once out of the water, allow the bagels to dry a little before placing them on a lightly-oiled baking tray


• Bake for 10 minutes, then flip over and bake the other side for a further 10 mins


• Mazeltov! Delicious, homemade bagels!

N.B. If you wish to top the bagels with poppy seeds or whatever, then this should be done after the boiling stage and the bagels placed topping-side-up for the first 10 minutes in the oven.

Hole-ly Inappropriate

Well I gave up trying to come up with a saucy title for this article because I couldn't get past 'hole' jokes which were well beyond saucy and firmly in rude territory. So. Bagels: can't buy a decent bagel for love nor money in these parts, so I decided to have a bash at making them myself.

I was somewhat taken aback when I learned that bagels are boiled before they are baked, but it turned out to be easier than I thought, and an essential part of the process.  Just wish I hadn't used curved tongs to fish 'em out, as they made the boiling water run over my hand! Lesson learnt.

The actual dough is very simple, and if the steps are followed correctly you get great bagels.  However, I have yet to become an expert on shaping them! My bagel rings have yet to turn out as the completely smooth rings one sees when buying professionally-made ones.  They have improved with each batch, and with enough practice I'm sure they'll be looking spiffy.  In the meantime, they taste delicious which is pretty much what food should be about, isn't it?

Sweet Piggy

Ingredients:

• 1 filet mignon/pork tenderloin


• 2 large onions


• 2 handfuls of brown cane sugar


• Raspberry vinegar


• Maple syrup


• Puff pastry


• Egg for glaze


• Salt & pepper


• Olive oil

 

 

• Prep time: 30 mins


• Oven time: Approx 30 mins at 220 (depends on thickness of tenderloin)

Picture:

Instructions: 

• Very finely chop the onions (I used a food processor)


• Heat a little olive oil in a medium saucepan and bung in the onions


• Scatter the brown sugar over the onions, then douse thoroughly in vinegar


• Cook the onions down until pinky-brown and sticky, leave to cool.


• Season the pork with a little salt and pepper, whilst heating a little oil in a frying pan


• On a high heat, sear the meat on all sides


• Lower the heat and cook the pork for a couple of minutes on each side


• Remove from pan and allow to cool slightly, so as not to melt the pastry


• Lay out the sheet of pastry and cover evenly in the onions, leaving a margin around the edges for sealing.


• Place the pork in the centre of the pastry and generously drizzle maple syrup all over it


• Fold the pastry over the meat to make a nice parcel, then glaze with beaten egg


• Place in the oven for around half an hour, until crisp and golden on the outside.